Emmerdale spoilers: John Bowe reacts to huge fan support for Ronnie and Lawrence

Lawrence White actor John Bowe has admitted to being overwhelmed by the positive fan response to his character’s storyline with Ronnie Hale in Emmerdale. Lawrence continues to struggle with his own identity and patient Ronnie has not been putting pressure on him to find and accept who he is but it is clear that there are strong feelings of love between the pair.

Given Lawrence’s devastating past – which involved him enduring conversion therapy in prison – he remains extremely damaged and while he has shown signs of letting his guard down over Ronnie, for the most part, he has denied his feelings.

He enthused: ‘The reaction has been a source of amazement to me, actually. Both young fans and old fans equally are entranced by the relationship of two older men, who are still finding themselves in this storyline.

(Picture: ITV)

‘It’s actually quite moving sometimes to be collared by men out in public, who one suspects has been through some of the trauma that Lawrence has gone through in the past. There are also men who have found solace in a relationship with another man and are happy to be seeing this portrayed in a television show.’

Heaping praise on Emmerdale’s fanbase, he continued: ‘The equally remarkable thing is that young people seem to like it, seem to respect it and seem to understand it. I think that’s a generational thing. I don’t think my generation warm to that feeling as much as some of the younger generation do today.

(Picture: ITV)

‘The scope and possibilities for the future are endless and I’m really excited about it. I love the character of Lawrence, I love the complication of my daughters and the difficulty of my relationship with them. Who knows what will happen in the future?’